JPH08234952A - Display device capable of tossing window - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the operability of a window by selecting and moving a window by a pointing device, and tossing it by stopping the pointing device. SOLUTION: A user positions a pointer in the title bar of a window by a pointing device, presses a button 16, and moves a pointing device 19. While the window is moved, the stream of plural moving events is transmitted to a control program 27. When the event which is new to the control program 27 is different from the past event in the moving events, the window is promoted to be replotted at the position. At the time of stopping the use of the pointing device 19, the control program 27 decides how far the window should be tossed from the last two moving events. The window can be quickly and easily removed while one part of the window overlapped on a desired window can be viewed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of data processing. In particular, the invention relates to tossing windows on a display screen.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Early computer systems were controlled by batch operating systems and had limited user interaction. The operator had to load the job to run and send the output to the printer. The advent of time-sharing operating systems, such as the IBM System 370, has made the use of interactive computers popular. Because time-sharing operating systems allow many users to use computer resources at the same time, every user of the system seems to have its own computer. All users have their own terminal connected to a central computer system. This terminal generally consists of a display and a keyboard. To the user, this terminal appears to be a user-owned interactive computer system.

The advent of computer systems that enabled truly interactive computer applications has proliferated user interfaces. Some of these interfaces are command-based and others are menu-based, but in all of these the user can only perform one task or application at a time from a given terminal.

Today, the state of the art in computer systems and user interfaces is single task
Much more advanced than the interface. Low cost personal computers and workstations with powerful graphics processors and multitasking operating systems such as OS / 2 have changed the way users interact with computer systems. These operating systems allow the user to simultaneously perform many tasks at once on their own dedicated display panels called windows.
This interface allows multiple windows to be stacked on the display screen, thus allowing the user to keep one window on the screen while completely or partially overlaying another window on top of it. .
This allows the user to direct their attention from the first window to one or more other windows for assistance or reference, improving the overall user interaction. The processor controlling this operation must maintain information about the original window and any subsequent superimposed windows. It is possible to run active applications in multiple windows simultaneously. As the number of open windows increases, the screen becomes more crowded and the overlap of windows makes it more and more difficult for the user to find the desired window to work with.

In existing systems to find the desired window, the user must hover over the iconized button.
You can change overlapping windows into icons (symbols that represent windows) by clicking the mouse button while keeping the cursor. In this method, if the window is iconified, the user cannot confirm the contents of the window. When an application is running in a window, the user may want to see the contents of the window many times. By looking at all or part of the contents of the window, the user can know when the application has terminated or needs attention. For example, a compiler, system backup operation, or terminal emulator can be run in one window while the user interacts with another application in another window. It is also useful to make part of the window visible for identification purposes.

Another method of finding the desired window is
Moving overlapping windows by dragging. Dragging consumes a great deal of user time and diverts the user's attention from the main work in the desired window in which he is focused.

[0007]

For the above reasons, there is a need for a window operation interface that allows a user to quickly and easily remove a window that overlaps a desired window while keeping part of the window visible. It is said that

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved window manipulation system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for window tossing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for holding a portion of a window on the screen while tossing that window.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a window tossing method and apparatus in which the speed of movement of the tossed window is slowed by frictional components over time.

[0012]

The foregoing and other objects are obtained by a computer system that provides a windowing interface that provides a user with the ability to toss windows on a display screen. This method is
Use the device to select a window, move the pointing device to move the window, stop using the pointing device, and toss the window. The window keeps moving even after the user stops using the pointing device. Part of the window can be selectively kept on the screen so that the tossed window does not completely extend off the screen.

[0013]

1 is a block diagram of a computer system 10 which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The computer system 10 has a display 17, an input device 18 and a pointing device 19, each connected to a system unit 11. The display 17 has a screen 21. The input device 18 in the preferred embodiment is a keyboard. However, it may be any device including a voice recognition device capable of transmitting data or characters to a window application. The pointing device 19 in the preferred embodiment is a mouse having buttons 16. However, it may be any pointing device capable of moving the window of the screen 21, such as a joystick, a trackball, a light pen, an infrared handheld controller or a voice recognizer. In the preferred embodiment, input device 18 and pointing device 19 are independent. However, it may be the same device, or the pointing device 19 may be an input device 18 such as a keyboard with a trackball.
May be attached to. The system unit 11 is a central processing unit (CPU) 1 connected to a memory 13, a storage device 14 and an I / O controller 15 via a bus 23.
2 In the example herein, the display 17, input device 18, and pointing device 19 are all connected to the I / O controller 15, but each may have its own controller. The pointer 58 displayed on the screen 21 is pointing
It is controlled by the device 19 and can be used to manipulate objects on the screen 21. In this example, the pointer 58
Is an arrow, but may be any symbol that is user-friendly.

The CPU 12 in the preferred embodiment is an Intel 8048 commonly used in personal computers.
A general purpose programmable processor, such as a 6-processor. Memory 13 is a random access memory (RAM) large enough to hold the necessary programs and data structures. It is understood that the memory 13 is shown as a single component, but may actually have multiple modules, and may exist at multiple levels, from fast registers and caches to slower but larger DRAM chips. I want to be done. The memory 13 has a data structure 26 and a control program 27. Data structure 26 is the basic data structure of the preferred embodiment and will be discussed in detail in the discussion of FIGS. 6-9. The control program 27 has a plurality of machine instructions executed by the CPU 12 to carry out the present invention, the details of which are described in the flow charts of FIGS. 6-9. The contents of the memory 13 are taken in and out by exchanging data with the storage device 14 as needed. The storage device 14 in the preferred embodiment is DASD (Direct Access Storage Device).
Is. Although storage device 14 is shown as a single component, it is possible to include multiple storage devices.

In the preferred embodiment, computer system 10 is an IBM PS / 2 and display 17 is an IB.
It is an M8516 display. The computer system 10 may also be another type of computer system, such as another microcomputer such as Apple's Macintosh, a minicomputer such as the IBM AS / 400 or a mainframe computer such as the IBM System / 390. It is possible. Further, computer system 10 may be a microcomputer connected to a host computer system such as an IBM AS / 400.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which a user-desired window, word processor 50, is covered by a number of other open windows such as system backup window 52, email window 54, and compiler window 56. Indicates.

In FIG. 3, the user uses the pointing device 19 to display the system backup window 5
2 to the left, the compiler window 56 to the upper right, and the e-mail window 54 toss the screen 21 after tossing to the lower right.

The window toss is performed by using the window movement by the user. This window movement is
This is done by using the pointing device 19 in the title bar of the window that the user moves, selecting that window, and then moving the pointing device 19. In the preferred embodiment, the user positions the pointer associated with the pointing device in the title bar of the window and pushes the button 16
Press and then move the pointing device 19. While the window is being moved, a stream of movement events is sent to the control program 27. Each move event prompts the control program 27 to redraw the window at the position of the move event if the new event is at a different position than the past event. When the user ceases to use the pointing device 19 (releases the button 16 in the preferred embodiment), the control program 27 uses the last two movement events when the pointing device 19 ceases to be used. How fast the window was moving,
So decide how far toss the window.

An example of tossing the compiler window 56 from window position 60 to window position 66 using the present invention is shown in FIG. The compiler window 56 was originally located at window position 60. The user positions the pointer 58 at the pointer position 70 in the window title bar of the compiler window 56 using the pointing device 19 and presses the button 16. The user moves the pointer 58 in the direction of moving the window 56, that is, the upper right in this example, while continuing to press the button 16. A move event occurs at each of the pointer positions 70 to 74,
Window 56 is redrawn at each of window positions 60-64. The pointer position 72 is the last previous pointer position, and the corresponding move event is generated. The pointer position 74 is the last pointer position, that is, the user releases the button 16 and
This is the pointer position that causes the up event. The control program 27 uses the last two of these events.
One (window positions 62 and 64) and the time difference associated with these last two events, determine the window's speed of movement when the button is released, and determine how far the window is tossed. . This toss mechanism is described in the flow chart of FIGS. In this example, window 56 continues to move from window position 64 to window position 66 after the user releases button 16 at pointer position 74.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a tossable window options screen. "Friction" is a reduction in the movement of a window that has been tossed, with a corresponding slower movement of the window. This friction is virtual in the movement of the window, and physical friction does not actually occur. Friction is expressed in pixels. Friction has an x component and a y component, which can be set to different values. In the example of FIG. 5, x = 0.5 and y = 0.3 are set. "Screen retention" is the percentage of windows that do not disappear from the screen. This prevents the window from completely disappearing from the screen due to a toss. This example allows the user to enter the friction and screen retention, but you can use the default values or adjust the friction component value to match the type of display screen connected to your computer system. Is.

The operation of the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 6-9 will now be described in detail.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a computer system 1 for handling an event from the pointing device 19.
9 shows a flow chart of a zero window manager event handling routine. Events here are the basic forms of communication used by the window manager. 6 and 7 show three events, a button down event,
The processing related to the window move event and the button up event is shown. At block 100, all events are received by the control program 27.

The button down event in the preferred embodiment is to press the button 16 on the pointing device 19 or in some way with the pointer 58 in the title bar of the window that the user wishes to move. It is generated by activating the pointing device 19. At block 102, control program 27 determines whether the event received at block 100 is a button down event. In block 104, the control program 27 initializes the time parameters saved_time and curren_time to the time event time at which the button down event occurs, and block 1
Position parameter saved_pos (xy) and curre in 06
Initialize nt_pos (xy) to the screen position event position associated with the button down event. In the preferred embodiment, the position on screen 21 is defined by (xy) in the Cartesian coordinate system. "x" is the horizontal axis, "
y "represents the vertical axis and position (00) represents the lower left corner of screen 21. However, other methods of defining position on screen 21 are also within the scope of the present invention. Control program 27 at block 108. Standard processing of the button down event is performed, including selecting the window to move, then returning to block 100 to get the next event.

In the preferred embodiment, a window move event occurs when the pointing device 1 is in the title bar of the desired window when the pointer 58 is in the pointing device 1.
After selecting a desired window by pressing the button 16 of the pointing device 9, the pointing device 1 by the user
It occurs in response to the movement of 9. After the negative branch (No) of block 102 in block 112, control program 2
7 determines whether the event received at block 100 is a window move event. If it is a movement event, the control program 27 save__ in block 114.
Set time to current_time. At block 116, control program 27 sets current_time to the time the window move event was received. In block 118, the control program 27 sets saved_pos (xy) to current_pos.
Set to (xy). At block 120, control program 27 sets current_pos (xy) to the position of the window move event. Control program 2 in block 122
7 erases the window displayed in saved_pos (xy) and redisplays it at the position where the event was received. Control program 27 now block 1 for the next event
Return to 00. In this way, the combination of execution of blocks 112 to 122 by the control program 27 causes current_po
s (xy) and saved_pos (xy) will have the last two positions of pointing device 19. Similarly, current_time and saved_time have corresponding last two times, and the selected window is moved in response to the movement of the pointing device 19 by the user.

The button up event in the preferred embodiment occurs when the user releases the button 16 of the pointing device 19. When a button up event occurs, after each negative branch of blocks 102, 112 and 130, and after a yes branch of block 150, the control program 27 causes the control program 27 to call current_ti at block 154.
Calculate deltamt by subtracting saved_time from me. Thus deltamt represents the elapsed time between the last two move events before the button up event, which includes the window erase and redraw times. In block 156, the control program 27 is curren.
Calculate deltamd (xy) by subtracting saved_pos (xy) from t_pos (xy). Therefore deltamd (x
y) represents the distance between the positions of the last two movement events before the button up event, each component of which is an integer value. At block 158, the control program 27 is de
Initialize ltamdreal (xy) to deltamd (xy). de
ltamdreal (xy) is the real (floating point) value of the distance traveled by friction and is used in the calculations described later in FIGS. 8 and 9.

At block 160, control program 27 calls the routines of FIGS. 8 and 9 to handle window tosses after a button up event. Referring to FIG. 8, in block 200, the control program is deltamd (x
Check if y) is 0. deltamd (xy) is 0
Will be 1) button down event and button
2) if there was no move event between the up events, 2) the window was too off screen tossed and set to 0 in block 218, or
3) At block 213, friction reduces toss movement to zero. When deltamd (xy) becomes 0, the control program 27 exits the routine.

If deltamd (xy) is not zero, then at block 202 control program 27 starts a timer set to measure deltamt. de
ltamt represents the difference between the last two times the window was repainted. The deltamt initially set by the control program 27 at block 154 does not need to be recalculated because it includes the time to erase and redraw the window. The deltamt is used for a timer period so that the window movement smoothly switches from the user's manual movement to the automatic movement by the toss mechanism.

When the timer set to measure deltamt expires, a timer event is received by the control program 27 at block 100 of FIG. 6 and blocks 130-132 proceed. After starting the timer at block 202, the control program 27 proceeds to block 204 to erase the window at the current position and de
Redraw the window at the position where ltamd (xy) is added. If at block 206 some of the windows are off the screen and at block 216 the percentage of windows remaining on the screen is less than the screen retention rate described above (see description of FIG. 5), toss window movement is At block 218, control program 27 sets deltamd (xy) to 0, and control program 27 exits the routine of FIGS.

If at block 206 none of the windows have gone off screen, or at block 216 the percentage of windows remaining on the screen is equal to or greater than the desired screen retention, then control program 27 returns at block 208 old ( xy) to deltamdre
set to al (xy), and at block 210 deltamdr
The friction component friction (xy) is subtracted from eal (xy). Friction is described in the description of FIG. 5 above. In block 212, any component of deltamdreal (x or y component) is the corresponding component of old old (x) or
If the code is different from old (y), control program 2
7 sets deltamdreal (xy) to 0 in block 213. This indicates that the tossed window is stopped by friction. Control program 27 in block 214
Sets deltamd (xy) to the rounded value of deltamdreal (xy). This value is rounded to an integer. This is because the pixel is the smallest unit on the screen that can move the window. After block 214,
The control program 27 exits the routine of FIG. 9 and returns from block 132 or block 160 of FIG. 6 to block 100.

Referring again to FIG. 6, block 2 of FIG.
When the timer started at 02 expires, a timer event is received at block 100. Control program 2
7 proceeds to the negative branch of blocks 102 and 112, and the positive branch of block 130, and at block 132 calls the routines of FIGS.

If the event received at block 100 is not a button down event, a move event, a timer event, or a button up event, the event received is at block 152 control program 2
7 and then returns to block 100 to get the next event.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of preferred and alternative embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes can be made in detail within the spirit, scope and teaching of the invention. For example, the type of application that uses windows may in the future be different than what is currently known. In addition, window manipulation technology will be widely adopted in consumer applications such as consumer electronics, appliances and vehicle operating panels. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

In summary, the following matters will be disclosed regarding the configuration of the present invention.

(1) A pointing device, display means for displaying a window on a screen, moving means for moving the window in response to a movement of the pointing device by a user, and the user for moving the pointing device. A toss means for continuing to move the window after discontinuation of use; (2) The display device according to (1), wherein the toss means further includes a friction means that slows the moving speed of the window until the window stops moving. (3) The display device according to (2), wherein the toss means further includes stop means for stopping the movement of the window when the window reaches a predetermined rate of staying in the screen. (4) The display device according to (3), wherein the predetermined ratio is determined by a user. (5) The display device according to (1), wherein the moving unit further includes a generating unit that generates a plurality of streams of moving events corresponding to the position of the window to be moved. (6) The display device according to (2), wherein the screen has a horizontal axis and a vertical axis, and the friction means further has a horizontal component and a vertical component corresponding to the horizontal axis and the vertical axis. (7) A method of moving a window of a screen using a pointing device, the step of displaying the window on the screen, and the step of moving the window in response to a movement of the pointing device by a user. Tossing the window after the user ceases to use the pointing device. (8) The method according to (7), wherein the tossing step further includes a friction component that slows the moving speed of the window until the window stops moving. (9) The tossing step further includes the step of stopping the movement of the window when the window reaches a predetermined rate of staying in the screen.
The method according to (8) above. (10) The predetermined ratio is determined by the user,
The method according to (9) above. (11) The method according to (7), wherein the moving step further comprises generating a stream of a plurality of moving events corresponding to the position of the window to be moved. (12) The method according to (8), wherein the screen has a horizontal axis and a vertical axis, and the frictional component further has a horizontal component and a vertical component corresponding to the horizontal axis and the vertical axis. (13) A display device having a processor, a screen and coupled to the processor, a pointing device having button means and coupled to the processor, display means for displaying a window on the screen, and a user Moving means for moving the window in response to moving the pointing device while pressing the button means, and toss means for continuing to move the window after the user releases the button means, A computer system having: (14) The computer system according to (13), wherein the toss means further includes a friction means that reduces a moving speed of the window until the window stops moving. (15) The computer system according to (14), wherein the toss means further includes stop means for stopping the movement of the window when the window reaches a predetermined rate of staying in the screen. (16) The predetermined ratio is determined by the user,
The computer system according to (15) above. (17) The computer system according to (13), wherein the moving means further includes generating means for generating a plurality of streams of movement events corresponding to the position of the window to be moved. (18) The computer system according to (14), wherein the screen has a horizontal axis and a vertical axis, and the friction means further has a horizontal component and a vertical component corresponding to the horizontal axis and the vertical axis.

[0035]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a window operation interface which allows a user to quickly and easily remove a window that overlaps a desired window while allowing the user to see the window.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system in the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a window before being tossed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a window after being tossed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing examples of pointing icons and windows at various locations where pointing icons are used to toss windows.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an option screen for a tossable window.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the preferred embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 computer system 11 system unit 12 central processing unit (CPU) 13 memory 14 storage device 15 I / O controller 16 buttons 17 display 18 input device 19 pointing device 21 screen 23 bus 26 data structure 27 control program 50 word processor 52 system backup window 54 e-mail window 56 compiler window 58 pointer 60, 62, 64, 66 window position 70, 72, 74 pointer position

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Edwin Ernest Barris, USA 55901, Rochester, Minnesota, Stoneham Lane, North West 4224 (72) Inventor Jeffrey Michael Ryan United States 55920, Bairro, Minnesota P, O Box 550

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A pointing device, display means for displaying a window on a screen, moving means for moving the window in response to a movement of the pointing device by a user, and the user using the pointing device. A display device for moving the window on the screen, which has a toss means for continuing to move the window after stopping. 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the toss means further comprises a friction means for reducing the moving speed of the window until the window stops moving. 3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the toss means further includes stop means for stopping the movement of the window when the window reaches a predetermined rate of staying in the screen. 4. The display device according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined ratio is determined by a user. 5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein said moving means further comprises generating means for generating a stream of a plurality of movement events corresponding to the position of said window to be moved. 6. The screen has a horizontal axis and a vertical axis,
The display device according to claim 2, wherein the friction means further has a horizontal component and a vertical component corresponding to the horizontal axis and the vertical axis. 7. A method of moving a window of a screen using a pointing device, the method comprising: displaying a window on the screen; and moving the window in response to a user moving the pointing device. And tossing the window after the user ceases to use the pointing device. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the tossing step further comprises a friction component that slows the speed of movement of the window until the window stops moving. 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of tossing further comprises the step of stopping movement of the window when the window reaches a predetermined percentage to remain within the screen. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined percentage is user defined. 11. The method of claim 7, wherein the moving step further comprises the step of generating a stream of a plurality of moving events corresponding to the position of the window being moved. 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the screen has a horizontal axis and a vertical axis, and the frictional component further has horizontal and vertical components corresponding to the horizontal and vertical axes. 13. A processor, a display device having a screen and coupled to the processor, a pointing device having button means and coupled to the processor, display means for displaying a window on the screen, and a user. Moving means for moving the window in response to moving the pointing device while pressing the button means, and tossing means for continuing to move the window after the user releases the button means. And a computer system having. 14. The computer system according to claim 13, wherein said toss means further comprises friction means for slowing the moving speed of said window until said window stops moving. 15. The toss means further comprises stop means for stopping the movement of the window when the window reaches a predetermined rate of staying in the screen.
The computer system according to claim 14. 16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the predetermined percentage is user determined. 17. The computer system according to claim 13, wherein said moving means further comprises generating means for generating a plurality of streams of movement events corresponding to the position of said window to be moved. 18. The computer system according to claim 14, wherein said screen has a horizontal axis and a vertical axis, and said friction means further has a horizontal component and a vertical component corresponding to said horizontal axis and said vertical axis.